Garbage Collector Rescues Discarded Books for Children

Of the 19 public libraries in Bogotá, Colombia, all are located far from the poorer regions of the city, thus restricting many people’s access to books.

Thankfully, 53-year-old garbage collector Jose Gutierrez is working hard to ensure that children everywhere are exposed to the joy of reading. As ABC News reports, Gutierrez began “rescuing books from the trash almost 20 years ago, when he was driving a garbage truck at night through the capital’s wealthier neighborhoods.” Due to the shockingly large number of abandoned books, Gutierrez was able to create a “makeshift community library stacked…with some 20,000 books” in his own home.

Gutierrez champions the power of books.

More from ElectricLiterature.

Albany Public Library at at City Hall's "Back to School Night"

From WNYT, Channel 13:
Parents can sign their children up with groups like the YMCA, Albany Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club and lots more.

From the Albany Times Union:
Participating groups included the Albany Police Athletic League, the Capital District YMCA, the Albany Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, the City of Albany's Department of Recreation, and Liberty Partnerships Rising Stars Program.

Financial Resource Guides for Newcomers to the United States

Please download the following Newcomer Guides in PDF format. For other publications from the CFPB, please visit http://www.publications.usa.gov/ and search using “cfpb.”

Ways to receive your money

Have you received a paycheck but aren’t sure whether to cash it or put it into a bank account? This guide provides information about receiving wages or payments. You can use this guide to compare the benefits and risks of getting paid in cash, with a check, by direct deposit, or on a card. [English| Español]

Checklist for opening an account

If you’re interested in opening a bank or credit union account, you can use this guide and checklist to make sure you have the required paperwork before opening your account. [English | Español]

Ways to pay your bills

Are you trying to decide whether to pay your rent by check or credit card? Take a look at this guide to compare the benefits and risks of paying regular and one-time bills by check or money order, by direct debit, online, or in cash. [English | Español]

Selecting financial products and services

If you’re trying to decide which financial services are right for you, this guide provides information about common transactions, including ATM cash withdrawals and debit card purchases. [English |Español]

23 Things: Libraries for Research Data

Presentation for "The Research Data Alliance and IFLA: Building Bridges for Research Data", August 17, 2015, at IFLA 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. Created by Michael Witt, Purdue University Libraries. Handout: http://bit.ly/1IoYnlg


Go to HERE.

Museums and Mobile – a Huge Opportunity for Digital Visitor Service

Mobile devices represent a significant opportunity for visitor engagement – before, after and during visits. In a major survey done in 2012-2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London discovered that almost two thirds of their visitors own a smartphone and bring it with them to the museum, and the majority of survey respondents said they use their phones to “enhance their cultural visits.”

Survey results showed that the use of mobile devices for accessing the V&A website doubled from January 2012 to January 2013, with the “Visit Us” and “What’s On” pages showing the most activity. While it might be easy to think of smartphones as primarily onsite resources, evidence shows that they’re used to support the potential visitors' decision-making process.

More from Lucidea

The People You Can Check Out of the Library

Libraries are, increasingly, more than just books — they’re repositories of information, with all that knowledge made open to the public. You can scan decades-old magazines now stored on microfiche, check out CDs and DVDs (and maybe vinyl and VHS tapes if you have a device that can play them), and surf the Internet with reckless abandon. If a person’s experience or ingenuity is stored on a form of media, it may be available for check out.

But what about all that knowledge which isn’t written down or recorded — what about the oral histories? If an organization called “the Human Library” gets its way, you’ll be able to check that out of the library, too. That is, you’ll be able to check out that other person.

The Human Library aims to reduce stigma and prejudice through the power of storytelling.

More from Now I Know.

The Ultimate Wish: film about Nagasaki and Fukushima, August 10 at APL

NOTE NEW LOCATION!

The Ultimate Wish (2012)
Director, Robert Richter

Presents moving, unforgettable living witnesses who survived two of the world's most momentous radiation crises: Nagasaki in 1945 and Fukushima in 2011. This film raises profound questions about war, American foreign policy, technological failure, the courage to survive and the importance of taking positive actions to prevent future nuclear disasters.

Date: Monday, August 10 Time: 7:00 – 8:45 pm
Place: Albany Public Library, Pine Hills Branch, 517 Western Ave, Albany, NY
Sponsored by Upper Hudson Peace Action Information: elaineklein@hotmail.com

Film is free and open to the public.